Why We Need A Release Date

[Fraggle (DayZ) 15720]

How am I going to get upset about missed release dates if there are no dates to be missed?!?  Explain that to me smart guys!

Oh no, he's rumbled us =)

 

Anyhoo - to post vaguely on topic, giving the public a release date for a final product is very different to giving the public a release date for an early development build of a highly experimental game with lot's of unknowns.

 

There's a point there somewhere but I've no idea what it is.

Edited September 20, 2013 by Fraggle

[Max Planck 7174]

Oh no, he's rumbled us =)

 

Anyhoo - to post vaguely on topic, giving the public a release date for a final product is very different to giving the public a release date for an early development build of a highly experimental game with lot's of unknowns.

 

There's a point there somewhere but I've no idea what it is.

 

It's Rome II.

[JonySK 60]

DrGonzo, I admire your effort to create a constructive discussionon this forum. But it is over a year since the dayz mod came out and now it is only boys who is fan off the game who is left on this forum. You will find no constructive   discussionon on this forum whatsoever. What progress do we really see from the dev blog videos? Another stupid video about the inventory system. They say they have added so much but we have'nt realy seen anything in the dev blog videos, Who about show us some real footage of what you have added in the SA.

[bibbish 49]

It's Parkinson's law. Basically you'll use whatever time you define for a task to complete the task. If you give yourself a week to write a report it will take a week. If you give yourself two days you will crank it out in two days. There's a shit ton of science to back it up. I assumed people would be familiar with it. Here's a link:

 

Ah! Just google Parkinson't Law. The link to the wiki has an underscore in it so it won't take you directly there. Sorry.

 

Here's a nice link about how to use it to your advantage, Dean should read this:

 

http://www.lifehack.org/articles/productivity/how-to-use-parkinsons-law-to-your-advantage.html

Very interesting. Certainly true at my place of work. Things end up being completed at roughly the same level of quality; it doesn't seem to matter if we spend a day on the project, a week or even 3 weeks. There is part of me that wants to agree with you but patch 1.8 just came out. I often play on server UK410. It was quite busy, the most stable I have seen it in a while and I was overjoyed at the new weapon swap feature. Shame it is broken and offered to let me carry a shotgun and assault rife at the same time... :P

[bibbish 49]

And in this situation, there is NO need to have it done soon, there's no real benefit to the team to get out out early in place of working on it, it's simply the impatience of others that is causing this need for a release date. I would imagine the team is small, so stressing them out is only going to cause complications, for no gain.

On this point alone I disagree. As each day goes by the 'buzz' around DayZ diminishes. Perhaps we are past all that now and the hardcore who want the game will buy it anyway when it arrives. I intend to buy it. That said my friend who I normally play with seems to have totally lost interest. We built gaming PCs for Dayz, he'll probably buy tons of games on Steam and might not bother with the standalone.

 

Here I think the phrase 'strike while the iron is hot' applies. Getting loads of people to buy the game before it is forgotten about will only help. Even if many are only casual players and don't end up playing much, certainly after a certain time period, DayZ will still have their money which can be used to fund further updates and improvements, because doubtless the standalone will launch with problems and will need many updates.

 

The other side to this is what we saw with The War Z. Sure 'Infestation: Survivor Stories' appears to have bombed and has a Metacritc score of just 20% but it only takes another company with a bit more cash or the appropriate attitude (and that attitude may be a bad one) to make a game which intentionally or unintentionally takes focus away from DayZ. It may be more zombie games or someone might nail 'survival' (which DayZ is actually doing very well and is one of the main reasons I play it) but as more titles get released DayZ only gets lost in the crowd.

 

Of course the standalone will have some sort of advertising campaign, at least via social media, god I hope it does. Anyway I do totally agree though that a rush job would probably be awful, but there is part of me which thinks the sooner the game is out and a song and dance is made about it the better. Selfishly all I want is decent servers to play on and zombies that actually work. But I can appreciate that that wouldn't actually constitute a proper game, certainly in the eyes of the developers and reviewers.  

[bibbish 49]

 

I personally think that as gamers we should be happy that DayZ is being backed by a company that aren't just going to force a game out to capitalise on the hype initially generated by the mod.

 

 

I've mixed feelings about it. There is forcing a game out and then there is taking 'bloody ages'. :P That said i don't even know how long the standalone has been in development, shows what I know.

[bibbish 49]

I was wondering when you were going to grind that axe of yours.  All I've done is offered you my honest opinion.  Thankyou for being honest though.

 

Anyhoo, I shall leave you to it.

 

INB4 you resort to calling other people with opposing views fanboys.

I suppose that helps explain why you have lost interest in the mod - you get to play the SA pre-alpha, albeit in a very broken state. Part of me is well jelly.

[Rage VG 4033]

On this point alone I disagree. As each day goes by the 'buzz' around DayZ diminishes. Perhaps we are past all that now and the hardcore who want the game will buy it anyway when it arrives. I intend to buy it. That said my friend who I normally play with seems to have totally lost interest. We built gaming PCs for Dayz, he'll probably buy tons of games on Steam and might not bother with the standalone.

 

Here I think the phrase 'strike while the iron is hot' applies. Getting loads of people to buy the game before it is forgotten about will only help. Even if many are only casual players and don't end up playing much, certainly after a certain time period, DayZ will still have their money which can be used to fund further updates and improvements, because doubtless the standalone will launch with problems and will need many updates.

 

The other side to this is what we saw with The War Z. Sure 'Infestation: Survivor Stories' appears to have bombed and has a Metacritc score of just 20% but it only takes another company with a bit more cash or the appropriate attitude (and that attitude may be a bad one) to make a game which intentionally or unintentionally takes focus away from DayZ. It may be more zombie games or someone might nail 'survival' (which DayZ is actually doing very well and is one of the main reasons I play it) but as more titles get released DayZ only gets lost in the crowd.

 

Of course the standalone will have some sort of advertising campaign, at least via social media, god I hope it does. Anyway I do totally agree though that a rush job would probably be awful, but there is part of me which thinks the sooner the game is out and a song and dance is made about it the better. Selfishly all I want is decent servers to play on and zombies that actually work. But I can appreciate that that wouldn't actually constitute a proper game, certainly in the eyes of the developers and reviewers.  

Rocket has already stated he is more interested in going into complete detail in the game as opposed to releasing early to "cash in" on the hype.

[Mos1ey 6301]

DrGonzo, I admire your effort to create a constructive discussionon this forum. But it is over a year since the dayz mod came out and now it is only boys who is fan off the game who is left on this forum. You will find no constructive   discussionon on this forum whatsoever. What progress do we really see from the dev blog videos? Another stupid video about the inventory system. They say they have added so much but we have'nt realy seen anything in the dev blog videos, Who about show us some real footage of what you have added in the SA.

 

The last devblog was concentrating solely on item degradation/damage and weapon customisation (with demonstrations) but if you've got your heart set on being a negative Nancy then don't let me stop you...

[Michaelvoodoo25 3120]

Ive seen shit loads in the dev blogs, and constructive criticism is rampant, only the other day my mrs said I shouldnt spend too much time on here

[electroban 102]

Release dates are good for business, publishers that are successful know how to both crack the whip and still deliver a solid product.

But let's be clear on the disturbing part, they are releasing a half finished game to the public. So they don't know when their half finished game is going to be released? I mean you've only got half a game to make before you can make it a public alpha. Not to mention the amount of assets they can just take from Arma.

I feel like the team making DayZ mayhapz isn't getting enough pressure to knock it out the park.

In fact to all the people with the 'not this thread again' attitude should stfu, you should be more concerned when no one gives a fuck about the release because they are all playing the division and other polished dayz like games. People asking for a release date is a good thing - it shows interest.

Someone else mentioned on the thread earlier about forum mods. I do agree any kind of negative feed back is met with a gang bang of community support staff that aren't supporting as much as they are trying to prove how witty they are; maybe lost in the idea that because they have their names highlighted in blue what they have to say is some how of greater value than the user base that posts.

Tldr:Standalone needs to get released and fast - deadlines are a good thing for business.

Edited September 22, 2013 by electroban

[SalamanderAnder (DayZ) 1747]

Why You Should Put Your Foot in Your Mouth.

The mouth expands to fill the object you allow for it.

Edited September 23, 2013 by Inception.
Unnecessary

[Mos1ey 6301]

Release dates are good for business, publishers that are successful know how to both crack the whip and still deliver a solid product.

But let's be clear on the disturbing part, they are releasing a half finished game to the public. So they don't know when their half finished game is going to be released? I mean you've only got half a game to make before you can make it a public alpha. Not to mention the amount of assets they can just take from Arma.

I feel like the team making DayZ mayhapz isn't getting enough pressure to knock it out the park.

In fact to all the people with the 'not this thread again' attitude should stfu, you should be more concerned when no one gives a fuck about the release because they are all playing the division and other polished dayz like games. People asking for a release date is a good thing - it shows interest.

Someone else mentioned on the thread earlier about forum mods. I do agree any kind of negative feed back is met with a gang bang of community support staff that aren't supporting as much as they are trying to prove how witty they are; maybe lost in the idea that because they have their names highlighted in blue what they have to say is some how of greater value than the user base that posts.

Tldr:Standalone needs to get released and fast - deadlines are a good thing for business.

 

How long does it take Infinity Ward and Treyarch to make the same game over and over again? Why do you feel that DayZ (made by an absolutely miniscule dev team in comparison) should be built from the ground up and playable in less than half that amount of time?

 

Why are you so deadset on a release date being set and a half-baked game that will disappoint everyone being released? If DayZ was released now it would be a Chernarus deathmatch with only the M4, a few items of clothing and food and drinks scattered around. It wouldn't be fun, you'd get bored in half an hour.

 

Why don't you just be patient and accept that it will be released as soon as the core mechanics required for gameplay are in place?

Edited September 22, 2013 by mZLY

[Zero3ffect 60]

If DayZ was released now it would be a Chernarus deathmatch with only the M4, a few items of clothing and food and drinks scattered around. It wouldn't be fun, you'd get bored in half an hour.

 

That is what the alpha is going to be anyway... and the full release is going to still be a "Chernarus Deathmatch"

[Budheadz 28]

doublepost*

Edited September 22, 2013 by Budheadz

[Budheadz 28]

First off, as Inception. has said, people will still complain even with a release date. You'll see people posting about why the "Sudden release date shows the game is rushed", people complaining that being forced into a release date means they've given in to pressure and are disappointed, people claiming that DayZ is still somehow a scam and this release date is just another "part of the plan"... I think you get my point.

Secondly, Whilst it is true that you are more likely to do something faster if you set yourself a shorter deadline, but do you know what you'll get alongside that faster completion time? Stress. Tonnes of it. And in this situation, there is NO need to have it done soon, there's no real benefit to the team to get out out early in place of working on it, it's simply the impatience of others that is causing this need for a release date. I would imagine the team is small, so stressing them out is only going to cause complications, for no gain.

This impatience is somewhat justified since the original first date for release was last december. Then everyone was left guessing until early in the year, when they gave a hopefully march, but probably june window next, that came and passed with other rumors of july....now their saying nothing on a release window. So we went from a release in last december to almost a year later with no one the wiser on a release window..

 

But in fairness rocket has done a descent job with the latest dev vids explaining the story. And at the end of the day the longer we wait, the better for the game when it does hit. It would be nice to get a release date by someone who will realistically step back from the project, look at what needs to be done and calculate how long it will realistically take, rather then giving the impression that they only half sure of what their doing with alot of uncertainties about their teams abilitys to get the necessary done.

[dgeesio 1034]

december the 10th !

[Siberian (DayZ) 527]

december the 10th !

 

of 2015...

[Dr. Goner 661]

On this point alone I disagree. As each day goes by the 'buzz' around DayZ diminishes. Perhaps we are past all that now and the hardcore who want the game will buy it anyway when it arrives. I intend to buy it. That said my friend who I normally play with seems to have totally lost interest. We built gaming PCs for Dayz, he'll probably buy tons of games on Steam and might not bother with the standalone.

 

Here I think the phrase 'strike while the iron is hot' applies. Getting loads of people to buy the game before it is forgotten about will only help. Even if many are only casual players and don't end up playing much, certainly after a certain time period, DayZ will still have their money which can be used to fund further updates and improvements, because doubtless the standalone will launch with problems and will need many updates.

 

The other side to this is what we saw with The War Z. Sure 'Infestation: Survivor Stories' appears to have bombed and has a Metacritc score of just 20% but it only takes another company with a bit more cash or the appropriate attitude (and that attitude may be a bad one) to make a game which intentionally or unintentionally takes focus away from DayZ. It may be more zombie games or someone might nail 'survival' (which DayZ is actually doing very well and is one of the main reasons I play it) but as more titles get released DayZ only gets lost in the crowd.

 

Of course the standalone will have some sort of advertising campaign, at least via social media, god I hope it does. Anyway I do totally agree though that a rush job would probably be awful, but there is part of me which thinks the sooner the game is out and a song and dance is made about it the better. Selfishly all I want is decent servers to play on and zombies that actually work. But I can appreciate that that wouldn't actually constitute a proper game, certainly in the eyes of the developers and reviewers.  

This is true. I've been reading a lot of satire on how flooded the market has become with all things zombie anyway. I think the fad itself is dying, The Walking Dead will have a spinoff of a spinoff by this time next year. Also, the group I play with used to be really into DayZ, hell it's how I got associated with them, now we don't even have a DayZ server anymore, nor is it featured on our website and 99% of our group says it was a flash in the pan.

 

The fact is, buzz dies, hype fades and some great ideas never bear fruit. Not to mention the fact that the technology itself evolves so quickly now. It's an incredibly tough industry in which to stay relevant. I hope DayZ kicks ass, but I also pride myself on being a skeptic and trust me as a gamer with nearly thirty years under my belt I know that there is always something bigger and better just around the corner. The dev team needs to set a public release date for the alpha version in order to give themselves a steadfast goal. I cannot fathom why they wouldn't want to at this point.

[Dr. Goner 661]

Why You Should Put Your Foot in Your Mouth.

Do you know what the phrase "you've put your foot in your mouth means"?

Edited September 23, 2013 by DrGonzo
Personal insult, user warned.

[Inception. 9443]

 

This impatience is somewhat justified since the original first date for release was last december. Then everyone was left guessing until early in the year, when they gave a 

 

 

The "original release date" was hardly a release date; they planned to release a refined version of the mod, but instead decided to make it into a Standalone game.

[cywehner1234 582]

I am happy not having a release date. Rocket works on it all the time and hes an intelligent developer and he listens to the community. I couldn't ask for a better one. I am completely patient for this game, because i know hes putting his heart and soul into this game to make it his one hit wonder. But hopefully he'll have many of those ;)

[Bludy 324]

i don't need a release date..that's  why i come on the forum and i play the mod..

[Budheadz 28]

The "original release date" was hardly a release date; they planned to release a refined version of the mod, but instead decided to make it into a Standalone game.

Regardless, it put a more concrete idea of a pending release into peoples minds, leaving the doors wide open for impatience to develop much easier. 

Edited September 23, 2013 by Budheadz